VIJAYAWADA: Civil Supplies, Food, and Consumer Affairs Minister Nadendla Manohar announced that the State government has procured paddy worth Rs 418.75 crore, and deposited payments into the bank accounts within 48 hours of sale, bringing joy to farmers.
Recalling the ordeal of farmers who previously had to wait longer for payments, the minister highlighted that the growers are benefitting from the coalition government’s effective paddy procurement process in Andhra Pradesh.
Minister Nadendla Manohar stated that payments are credited to farmers’ accounts within 24 to 48 hours of selling paddy. A total of 1,81,988 metric tonnes of grain has been purchased from 24,051 farmers through 617 grain purchase centres across East Godavari, West Godavari, Eluru, Kakinada, Konaseema, Krishna, and NTR districts.
To further ease the paddy procurement process, the State government has launched a WhatsApp chatbot where the farmers can now choose slots to sell their produce in their preferred centre. The initiative also offers special mobile voice services to eliminate the need to visit purchase centres for farmers, he explained.
Minister Manohar also revealed that the government has simplified processes such as the supply of gunny bags and transportation to ensure smooth paddy procurement.